Am…musings

In addition to being the size of a thimble, I’m thinking my bladder is a sensitive, shy type that didn’t like being called out in my last post.

Thanks to it, I was up at least every two to three hours last night. By the fourth or fifth time, the sun was coming up and I was coherent enough to register the time and definitely know I visited the bathroom at 10 minutes to 6:00 and then again at 10 minutes after 8:00. At that point, I couldn’t fall back asleep even though it was a bit earlier than I wanted to rise on my day off.

I’m thinking it was my bladder’s way of saying, “Paybacks are a bitch, sister. Quit talking about me!” Or, more likely, my body is responding to waaaay too much Diet Coke yesterday … yeah, I’ve definitely fallen off the no caffeine/no soda wagon these days.

I still have the Far Side my friend Keith edited for me of the space shuttle launching with a speech bubble stating, “Wait! I have to go to the bathroom!” The altered caption: “Why Amber could never be an astronaut.” Yes, I have a thimble of a bladder. But twice lately, in a roundabout way, it’s meant I get a good breakfast.

In May, I was headed to a wedding in Louisville. Thanks to the bladder, I’d only made it about a ½ hour out of town and had to go. I also hadn’t had breakfast and figured if I had to get out of the car anyway, I might as well skip places with drive-throughs and went to Bread Co. (or Panera for those of you outside of the Lou.) The same thing happened this morning after a grocery stop on my way to work. Both times I had the Power Sandwich, which is quite tasty.

It’s egg, lean ham and cheddar on whole wheat. At 390 calories, it’s no lightweight, but it does pack lots of protein. It’s also a better choice than their other breakfast sandwiches with fatty meats on Ciabatta and the very evil, previously mentioned Cinnamon Crunch bagel.

I found these at Trader Joe’s (for less cashola than grocery store eggs, which is why TJs is a “fav thing” too). Do they taste better? Not that I can tell, but they’re just so darn cute!

P.S. One benefit I have noticed … they seem to crack better because the shells are a bit harder.

P.P.S. Do you know why brown eggs are brown and white eggs are white? Someone I know swore it was because white eggs were bleached. I knew that wasn’t it, but had to Google it on the iPhone to prove it. So … do you know … without Googling?

Two posts in one night … and I haven’t posted in a while. Normally, I’d parcel my posts out, but I couldn’t resist an opportunity to poke fun at myself …

My roommates since college may remind me otherwise, but I’d swear I haven’t left an un-rinsed cereal bowl in the sink for more than a day since then. For those of you obsessively neat folks in the crowd …when you do that, the milk (even skim) congeals until it resembles yogurt. Sometimes it smells. Thankfully, this time it did not.

Working until 9:30 p.m. Monday, 11:00 p.m. Tuesday and a 7:15 a.m. call-time for an all-day, fairly intense client meeting today meant my dishes sat. Actually, because I live alone I don’t mind to let them sit and they sometimes do, but I am a pretty religious rinser. Not so much this week. Eewww …

Ok … maybe not really … at least I don’t honestly thinks so, but I am hoping they are savvy enough to keyword search those two little words and might actually see this rant on my measly, under-posted blog.

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Mostly, I’ve been busy. Traveling, out-of-town guests and work have made life a little crazed … in a good way. And the thing that was none of your business … I’m still a little preoccupied with that … in a really good way. But I’d say the biggest challenge is that I’ve been without Internet service at home for a few weeks.

AT&T knows when I’m having issues because there’s no activity on the line. They’re even smart enough to call and ask if I’m having issues (a voice mail when I got home tonight). The call was a nice touch (I assume to keep me from getting so frustrated that I change services), but I think they could be even smarter.

The message asked me to call them if I’m having issues. Yeah … I already know that I can call them. I just really don’t want to … the thought of doing so makes me cringe … and I don’t think I’m the only one.

I called a few weeks ago. “Grace” in India (and I don’t really believe that’s her name) was pleasant, but I had some difficulty understanding her. Ultimately, she couldn’t help and I ended up with Ching, who claimed he was in “California” (and I don’t really believe he was). Ching was not so pleasant … condescending mostly … and there’s nothing I despise more than a condescending IT person. Plus, after talking to him … I’m still without service.

OK … now I’ve gone and offended three groups … please know I really don’t mean to generalize or stereotype … and I’m not blaming the AT&T team in India or “California” … I just wish the jobs were kept in America or at least that the team was trained to be empathetic and helpful. I’ve shared my experience with lots of people and hear the same sentiments as mine.

Hello … AT&T … maybe you don’t suck, but you do have some issues to fix. And now, I just have to get my gumption up to call and get my Internet fixed!

I used to like bacon as a kid (along with all sorts of other terrible artery-clogging things like Velveeta and fatty steak). Then, my dad had a heart attack at 38 and things like bacon were off the daily Morris menu. I’ve been on my own for a while, but bacon was one of those things on my “not worth the calories and fat” list (the two big exceptions to this rule are the BLT at Crown Candy Kitchen in North St. Louis and my neighbor Marsha’s bagel breakfast sandwich – both are amazing!).

Crown Candy BLT By IronStef @Flickr

I think I’m in the minority on this bacon thing. Several people I follow on Twitter regularly mention bacon, which always amazes me. I also have a few friends that are official Facebook fans of bacon. In fact, there are more than 250,000 fans of bacon on Facebook and nearly 300,000 fans of bacon butty (a bacon sandwich in the UK).

Because I thought I might have an overnight guest last weekend, I bought some bacon, which seemed like a required part of a good manly breakfast (I’m all concerned about serving this particular guy too many girly dishes for some reason). He ended up not feeling well so the package of bacon was still in my fridge when I was scrounging for something for dinner recently.

I chose a (decidedly girly) asparagus omelet and bacon. As a test run for an eventual overnight stay :), I even cooked it on the stove instead of the somewhat healthier method of in the microwave (too girly). It smelled wonderful and I was totally jazzed. Then I took a bite. It was ok, but I decided I’ve been right … not necessarily worth the calories and fat. I also think I really do like it better in the microwave. Of course, I’ll have to sacrifice myself for breakfast for the guy.

The alternative title for this post was “My Shower With a Cute, Furry Guy,” aka Chewy. He’s a digger. As a puppy, he dug all the time. He was also a great teacher (or ringleader) and usually got the fosters digging. My dad and I’ve filled most of the holes, but he’s found a few and when it rains, he can’t resist.

Unfortunately, it’s been raining A LOT lately. I should have known better … a few days ago, I caught him lightly dipping his paw in a tiny pond that had formed in one of the holes. The look on his face was devious … and joyful. I yelled then and he stopped. But Wednesday evening I was on the phone with a cute (non-furry) guy and not paying much attention to the pooch. Here’s the result …

It’s difficult to tell with his coloring, but that’s mostly mud, not water, on his chin, ears and front legs. And his belly and back legs looked about the same.

After a cocktail with dinner (to keep me from wanting to shoot him), I changed into some grubby clothes and stuck him in the tub. Because he was so mud-caked, the water from the faucet and a plastic cup just weren’t cutting it so Chew and I hit the shower.

For a dog that loves the hose and will stand out in the rain forever, the tub freaks him out and the shower was pure torture. Nor was it my idea of a good time. Plus, grubby clothes or not, his digging is making a mess around my house. So, if anyone has any advice for keeping a dog from digging, I’d welcome it.

A coworker recently recommended The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I was so ready for a good book after reading two that I found mediocre – Julie and Julie and Queen of the Road. Both of those did come highly recommended from friends (and ironically are by authors who blogged about their adventures) so it might just be me.

The Secret Life of Bees is truly wonderful. As a fan of fiction, I think that might be why I loved it more than the other two non-fiction tomes I mentioned. But the real reason I love The Secret Life of Bees is because of the beautiful writing, which a non-fiction author can expertly tackle … Eat, Love, Pray (one of my top five books) is an excellent example.

The Secret Life of Bees sucked me in with the first paragraph, which ended with this descriptor that made me pause … “The way those bees flew, not even looking for a flower, just flying for the feel of the wind, split my heart down its seam.”

The book is full of gorgeous writing like that. I also love that it addresses race relations. I even had to reach for something to bookmark this amazing line … “Up until then I’d thought that white people and colored people getting along was the big aim, but after that I decided everybody being colorless together was a better plan.” Amen.

No offense. Really.

I’m pretty open and honest … in general and in this blog … occasionally maybe too much so. But there are, of course, things I keep from you. Usually, it’s no big deal … I just blog about other things. But sometimes, the things I’ve decided to keep from you are a bit consuming for me, occupying my thoughts to the point where other things I might post about seem inconsequential.

That’s been the case lately.

I feel bad about not posting. I really do. I’ve even been trying to force myself to come up with something … anything, but I’ve never been one to do something I HAVE to do … unless the consequences are steep.

I do have a few posts in mind so you might be hearing more from me lately, but I did want to explain my absence.

And I really do hope you don’t take offense.

The week before the Art Museum and picnic outing, I learned my date likes mushrooms. Inspired by my friend Mary, who whipped up a yummy ‘shroom dip for a Kit Dr. party a few weeks ago, and this BigOven recipe, I did what I rarely do and cooked without a recipe. I think Mary chopped regular button mushrooms and sautéed them in butter and wine, but I spotted a double package of portobellos and decided to use one in the dip and have the other for dinner.

I started by marinating, then grilling the mushrooms:
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. shallot, minced (I used dried shallots from Penzey’s)
• A pinch or two of dried thyme (fresh would be better, but I don’t have it at this time of year)
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Cracked black pepper
• 2 large portobello mushrooms

Whisk together the marinade ingredients.

Remove the portobello stems and discard.

Cut a shallow “X” and the bottom of the mushroom and lightly score the top in a crisscross pattern.

Place the mushroom caps in 9X13 pan.

Pour half the marinade onto the side with gills and rub in.

Flip the mushrooms over and pour the remaining marinade over the top.

Let marinate for at least 30-60 minutes.

Grill over medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side.

I then mixed the dip (I actually used the food processor to avoid chopping the mushrooms like Mary did, but don’t recommend it because mine doesn’t look very appetizing):

• 1 large grilled portobello mushroom, finely chopped
• 1 package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 generous splash of red wine
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 Tbsp. shallots, minced
• A few slices of pickled jalapeno, minced well (this added a nice flavor and it really isn’t hot at all; I imagine crushed red pepper would also work)
• Salt or garlic salt to taste

Mix the ingredients and chill.

Serve on Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits (the best food on earth according to my neighbor Marsha, who very thoughtfully picked up a box on sale for me to take on the picnic.)